Treatment of vtocanizable materials



n. B. PRICE. TREATMENT 0F VULCANIZABLE MATERIALS.

APPLlCATlON FILED MAR. 22,1915.

Patented J une 24, 1919'.

Init/Emol? I Faj/mwd Prive,

E WITNESS;

:RAYMOND JB. PRICE, F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO RUBBER, REGENERATIN'G' y COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA..

TREATMENT OF VULCANIZABLE MATERIALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

724,874. Divided and this Patented il une 2d, tlg.,

application filed Titarch 22,

1915. serial nt. 16,012.

To all whom z', 'nal concern:

Be it known tnat l, RAYMOND B. PRICE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in the Treatment of Vulcania able Materials, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention is a division of my application Sr. No. 724,874, led @ctober 9th, 1912, and relates to the manufacture of articles formed either of fabric and plastic settable materials, or of layers or sections of plastic material alone, and has for its object to provide an improved process of building up or assembling the same whereby an article will be produced containing a minimum of air, moisture and the like, which is ordinarily entrapped between the layers or sections of the materials used 1n forming the article.

My invention further contemplates the production of a completed article of the character described wherein the layers or sections of the materials themselves will have been treated, prior to their being assembled, to eliminate therefrom as far as possible air, moisture, and the like.

lt will be understood that the production of an article possessing these characteristics may be accomplished by employing various forms of apparatus, and that any number of different articles such as tires, rubber boots and shoes, hose, and in fact practically all. articles wherein rubber forms a component part may beso produced. Nor 1s the 1nvention intended to be limited to articles containing rubber as it is my object to employ' the same in connection with the manufacture of linoleum, as well as in the manufacture of such. articles as oil skins and the like, the scope of my invention being in no sense limited in any particular as to the article being made providing the same is susceptiblc of, and may be improved by, my improved process.

VVher'e the articles formed as herein described embody as an element a settable materia-l, the building up of the article must necessarily be followed bythe setting' step in the process. Thus for instance, in the manufacture of articles containing rubber there must be a subsequent vulcanization of the built up article, and in order that said article may be subjected to an even temperature in its vulcanizing chamber l contemplate breaking the vacuum by admitting preheated gas at a temperature high enough to complete the vulcanizing operation, the result being that as said gas or other vulcanizinp,r medium relieves the vacuum it will penetrate every point in the chamber and will thus establish an even temperature throughout the same. And l contemplate employing this step alone or in connection with vulcanizers adapted to treat a plurality of articles at one operation, such as boots and shoes, in order that there may be established and maintained an even temperature throughout the vulcanilzer during the vulcanizing operation. l accomplish this result by lirst charging the vulcanizer with the boots and shoes to be vulcanized, and then'establishing a vacuum in said vulcanizer, and finally relieving` said vacuum by the admission of a gas preheated to produce a vulcanizing temperature, which results in the vulcanizer being` completely lilled with a vulcanizing medium at an' even temperature, and at any desired pressure below, at or above atmospheric.

It is well known that there is an. established relation between perature, and d ue recognition must be made of this fact in order to properly carry out the various steps of the process herein described.

-lf desired l may subject the articles being built up as hereinbefore described to the action of the vacuum while also exposed to a heating action produced in any suitable manner. It will b`e obvious that by thus heating the articles any gases entrapped therein will be correspondingly expanded and thus more readily removable by means of the Vacuum7 while the consistency of plastic materials such as rubber and the like will be correspondingly affected by the heat. And I also contemplate the application of cold in certain articles which will be found lto be particularly advantageous where the plastic material is of a sticky consistency,

pressure and temthe lower temperature rende Aing it more easily manipulated by reducing its sticky characteristic or stifening the material.

There are certain' articles which from their construction lend themselves to the ready removal or' entrapped air, gases and the like, and with this class of articles l contemplate applying the vacuum thereto after the article has been built up, the action of the vacuum under such conditions bei ng sutlicient to Withdraw therefrom thc entrapped air and the like. in order that there may be no reentry of air into the article when the vacuum is broken l prefer to provide means, which may er may not be automatic in operation for permanently sealing the sources of air egress in .the article zitter the applica tion of the vacuum thereto and beioresaid vacuum is broken.

lt is obvious that when rubber cement containing' naphtha or similar material is employed betiveen the layers of the material 'formingA the article, the. action thereon of the vacuum -vill be to eii'ectually remove the naphtha, this action being facilitated, as Willl be understood by the application of heat.

l contemplate applying the broad principlo of my invention to apparatus t'or molding articles, by subjecting the mold when illed with the material, or While being filled, or both, to the action of a vacuum, which may be exerted thereon by surrounding the same with chamber capable of being closed air-tight, or by any other suitable means, and this operation may be can ried on in connection,` or not, with any of the other steps as to the treatment of the material hereinbefore described. lt will be understood, however, that this step of subjecting material in a mold to the action of a vacuum may be used in connection with material not amenable to Some of the steps hereinbcfore described.

ln the accompanying drawings l have shown apparatus for carrying out my in: vention in connection with various articles of umuutacture wherein;

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus for carrying out my invention in connection with the manufacture of automobile tire slices.

Fig'. 2 -is a similar view illustrating an apparatus for carrying out my invention in -counection with the manufacture of rubber boots and shoes.

Fig'. 23 is a similar view illustrating an apparatus 'for carrying` out my invention in connection with the manufacture of hose.

Fia. i is a similar view illustrating an apparatus for carryingr out my invention in connection with the plying up of articles.

ln the said drawing, referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the same represents at 1 the core of a tire building machine lo1 any conventional type, thc same being mounted to be freely rotated in the usual manner. Surrounding and iuclosinpT said core is a casing' 2 formed air tight, and having a suitable cover at 3 at the top thereof, in which is removably disposed a plate of glass Tapped into one side of the casing 2is a pipe which is to be connected with any suitable exhaustinpr apparatus, whereby a vacuum may be exerted upon the interior of the casing 2. My invention contemplates the building up of the usual layers of fabric 6, the breaker strip, not shown, and the rubber 8 while the core 1 is disposed with in the casing 2 and while there is exerted upon the interior of said casing a vacuum through the pipe The result of so building or assembling the component parts of a. tire shoe in this manner is that all danger of the forn'iation of air pockets between the layers of material while being assembled is most eectually obviated.

ln Fig. 2 l have shown the same principle applied to the manufacture or iassembly of a rubber boot, the inner fabric and the outer layer or layers of rubber being` brought together in their proper relative positions on the form While in the casing 9, and While there is exerted upon said casing a vacuum, as described with respect to Fig. 1.

ln Fig. 3,1 have. shown the same principle applied to the manufacture of hose, wherein the mandrel 10 upon which the material built, together with thc rollers by which it is operated to Wind thereon the fabric, are inclosed Within a casing 11, upon which the vacuum described with respect to Figs. 1 and 2 is applied.

ln Fig. 4 l have illustrated a conventional plying machine, embodying a drum 12 and the usual yielding roller 13, the same being inclosed within a casing 14, to which the vacuum described with respect to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is applied while the plies of material, whether of fabric and rubber or layers of rubber alone, arebuilt up thereon while said vacuum is being exerted thereon.

And it Wil be understod that I contemplate building` up articles formed of layers or plies of such material as fabric or rubber or both, Without employing any specific mechanism other than an air tight inclosing casing, whereby a vacuum may be.

exerted upon the material While in the :1ct of being built up in plies or layers.

1n Fig. 2 have shown at 15 an air tight flexible bag or closure surrounding the built up boot or shoe. The function of this bag or closure is to protect the article from any danger of the admission of air into the body ot same when the vacuum in chamber 9 is first broken. .It will be understod that said closure is to be disposed around the boot. or shoe after the same has been built up, and

Leospie is to be sealed et its mouth, so that when the vacuum in ebember 9 is broken, and there is an 12u-rush of air et atmospheric pressure said closure will efeetually prevent any direet contact between the ai? and the boot oi' shoe, the result being; that seid air pressure will instantly compact the layers of material forming the boot or shoe upon its form. This action -being; completed the elesuie 15 is to be removed from the boot o i shoe and tbe article subjected to the usuel vuloenizing step in its process of nienufeeturen Having thus described my invention, what l claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1The method of manufacturing articles containing Vulcenizable plastics consisting in sheeting the plastic, subjecting the sheets to the action of e vacuum, subsequent thereto assembling the sheets to form the article, sind finally subjecting the article t0 the action of e vulcani/Ging medium.

Signed et New York, N'. Y., this 20th day of March, 1915.

- RAYMGIND B. PRICE. 

